Chicago 2012: 2013 GMC Acadia

General Motors has pulled the curtain back on the new 2013 GMC Acadia today at the Chicago Auto Show.

The new Acadia gets a new front end with a more vertical nose (reminiscent of the GMC Sierra All Terrain HD), and set of diffused LED daytime running lights will be equipped on both projector and HID headlight-equipped models. Around back, the Acadia wears wrap-around glass and a redesigned spoiler.

Inside, the new Acadia gets upgraded materials: including French stitching and red ambient lighting. The Acadia also comes with an available IntelliLink infotainment system.

The 2013 Acadia more importantly comes with what GM is calling an industry first; a center airbag. The system is designed to protect drivers and front passengers in accidents where the impact is on the opposite side of the vehicle. The bag inflates from the right side of the passenger's seat and stabilizes passengers in a crash.

CHICAGO – GMC today unveiled the new 2013 Acadia and Acadia Denali at the Chicago Auto Show, highlighting a new exterior and safety features including the industry’s first front center air bag.

Acadia, which launched in 2007 as GMC’s first crossover and defined a segment that has since surged in popularity, had the best sales in its five-year history in 2011. The Denali model, added in mid-2010, broadened Acadia’s appeal to luxury customers with its combination of functionality and style.

“With an award-winning combination of space, capability and fuel-efficiency, Acadia epitomizes GMC’s ‘never say never’ attitude,” said Tony DiSalle, U.S. vice president of GMC Marketing. “For 2013, our engineers and designers applied that same attitude to developing the new Acadia.”

Acadia retains the interior functionality popular with families, including the SmartSlide seating system, which allows easy access to the third row for both seven- and eight-passenger seating configurations. Likewise, both the second and third row still fold flat for class-leading maximum cargo space, including the ability to carry 48-inch-wide sheet goods, such as drywall and plywood.

Confident design

First impressions are everything, and the 2013 Acadia was developed to make a strong one. A chiseled, three-bar grille sits prominently in the new, more upright design.

Diffused LED running lamps lend a premium look to the Acadia and are standard on all models, regardless of whether standard projector beam or optional HID headlamps are selected. New taillamp detailing reflects the advancements up front.

The new Acadia gets other subtle exterior design updates, including wrap-around rear glass and a new rear spoiler. New 18-, 19- and 20-inch wheel patterns complement the vehicle’s lines and stance.

The Acadia’s refined interior uses upgraded soft-touch materials, with French stitching that adds a tailored look and red ambient light flowing across the dashboard. SLT and Denali models get aluminum accents on the center console, doors and dash.

Industry-exclusive safety

The redesigned Acadia will be the first vehicle on the market with GMC’s new front center air bag system, created to protect drivers and front passengers in far-side impact crashes where the affected occupant is on the opposite, non-struck side of the vehicle. It deploys from the inboard side of the driver’s seat and positions itself between the driver and front passenger.

"While no restraint technology can address all body regions or all potential injuries, the front center air bag is designed to work with the vehicle’s other air bags and safety belts to collectively deliver an even more comprehensive occupant restraint system," said Gay Kent, GM executive director of Vehicle Safety and Crashworthiness.

Standard on the Acadia Denali and available on other models are Side Blind Zone Alert and Rear Cross Traffic Alert systems. These systems use radar to watch spots the driver may not be able to see – and provide visible and audible warnings to help prevent collisions.

Every Acadia model also comes standard with six months of OnStar’s Directions and Connections service, which includes automatic crash response, turn-by-turn navigation, roadside assistance, emergency services link and remote door unlocking. OnStar’s RemoteLink smartphone app allows for remote vehicle status reports, extended locking and unlocking capability, and remote start functionality to distance limited only by cellular phone service, rather than the few hundred feet of the standard key fob.

Technology leader

The 2013 Acadia’s redesigned infotainment functions feature capacitive touch controls that use electrodes to sense the conductive properties of objects such as the touch of a finger.

GMC’s Color Touch Radio – first introduced on the 2012 Terrain – is standard in the Acadia. Available IntelliLink allows customers to seamlessly integrate their smartphones for hands-free calling through the audio system and Bluetooth streaming of popular internet radio favorites Pandora and Stitcher. IntelliLink also allows voice control of USB-connected iPods for easy access to stored music.

Other audio system features include HD radio capability, a photo viewer and a standard rear-vision camera with dynamic guide lines that will display on the high-definition screen.

“When designing the new Acadia, we considered the contemporary shapes and materials GMC buyers expect from many products they buy,” said Dave Lyon, executive director of design. “The Denali’s attention to detail is the ultimate demonstration of this approach.”

The 2013 GMC Acadia and Acadia Denali will be built at the Lansing Delta Township Assembly Plant in Lansing, Mich. Pricing, availability and more details will be announced closer to the vehicle’s on-sale date in late 2012.

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I like it much better now. At least we can say that the GMC Granite had a purpose - previewing the MCE'ed Acadia's styling direction. This gives me good feelings about the styling direction for the upcoming '14 Sierra too (and hopefully the new Canyon). The truckier look is better fitting with GMC's truck heritage; however, it may alienate female consumers now. I would seriously consider one at this point.

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Just looking at the pics, I think I prefer the older one's nose...I like the headlights and smaller grille of the original..this is too blunt and the grille too big (as is common on too many vehicles today).

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didn't go far enough, inside or out. in fact, half assed is a good term for it.

they butched the grille, but the rest of the vehicle is still soft and curvy. Where is the brash angularity of the Terrain?

Inside it doesn't appear to have an improvement in design or quality. The radio and CC is different. It's like, a lot has changed but the net effect is not much. Why does it still look dated and cheap? Why does the Terrain interior look better, more interesting, and newer?

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I do like this revamp- butched up, tightens up the GMC DNA, yet avoids what I feel are 'unpleasantries' on the Terrain.

Previous Acadia is nice, but it was a bit too rounded & dissimilar to other GMCs, IMO.

Usually you and I see eye to eye on most auto's except here I have to disagree, I like the Terrain allot and hated the old Acadia, glad to see this as their new DNA and look forward to it being put onto the Yukon and Terrain. Love the head lights.